Why MYSTERIES? Because that is the genre I read. Why PARADISE? Because that is where I live.
Among other things, this blog, the result of a 2008 New Year's resolution, will act as a record of books that I've read, and random thoughts.

When a teenaged boy is discovered stabbed to death in the woods
adjoining the local high school, a wave of shock ripples through the
suburban community of Newton, outside of Boston.
Assistant district
attorney Andy Barber is used to dealing with murder and its
after-effects, but with his own son, Jacob, also a student at the
school, he too is anxious for a swift arrest and conviction. But as the
kids appear to be stonewalling the cops and the investigation stalls,
evidence emerges that ties Jacob to the crime - and suddenly Andy faces a
very different challenge: preventing his son from being convicted of
murder.
Together with his wife, Laurie, the family closes ranks in the
midst of an increasingly hostile community as Andy prepares for the
trial of his life, the one trial he cannot afford to lose. Especially
when the emergence of his own dark family secrets threatens to undermine
Jacob's defence. And as the drama reaches its climax, Andy and Laurie
have to face every parent's toughest questions: how well do you really
know your own child, and how far would you go to save them?

My take

My face-to-face book discussion group has chosen this for its next discussion and there'll certainly be plenty to discuss.

This is a difficult book to write a non-revealing review of - so my apologies in advance if I reveal too much of the plot for you.

When his son Jacob is accused of murdering a fellow student Assistant DA Andy Barber is suddenly on the "other" side. Used to prosecuting for murder, now he has to face his protege in court.
Andy manages to worm his way into the defence team mainly so he can make sure the defence is played out the way he wants it to be. He realises also that he needs to tell both his wife Laurie and his son Jacob his biggest secret - that his own father is in gaol convicted of murder, and worse, that he comes from a whole line of murderers.

Andy and Laurie realise that they don't know their son, whom they've always regarded as "normal", as well as they thought they did. Laurie recalls incidents of violence in his childhood and they both recognise that Jacob is a bit reclusive, with only a small number of friends. Then a psychologist employed by the defence to assess Jacob diagnoses an unusual coldness towards others, a lack of empathy, and the emotional age of a much younger child. So part of the discussion becomes what is responsible for the way Jacob has turned out - is it as Laurie feels, their fault, or does he have the "murder gene" as Andy fears?

There's an interesting role given to viral networking too. All Jacob's fellow students have Facebook accounts through Jacob's Facebook discussions Andy finds out far more than he wants to know.

So yes, I think my friends will have a great time (in my absence) discussing DEFENDING JACOB.
I think the plot structure is another thing that will take their attention. The narrative operates through a number of time frames - some separated by over 12 months - beginning with the discovery of the body and progressing through to Jacob's trial. We also have the narrative of Andy's story and some of the court transcripts. And then there is the twist at the end....

Not every one will enjoy the book (Reactions to Reading didn't), but you will find it thought provoking. I would liken it to Lionel Shriver's WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.